【浙江英语·八年级下册】2024年期中提分精炼：阅读理解（人与自然）

阅读理解

Chu Wenwen is famous as the "Beaver(河狸)Princess".Six years ago, she finished studying in Beijing Forestry University and went back to Xinjiang. It was then that Mengxin beavers became a part of her life.

The Mengxin beaver is an animal in danger in China. They are only found along the Ulungur River in Xinjiang. When Chu went there, she was shocked by what she saw. "Many beavers die from fighting for a place to live. Willow shrubs(灌木柳)are their most important food, but they were missing in the area," she said. " I decided to do something."

In 2018, Chu started the "beaver canteen" program and made a plan to plant willow shrubs for the beavers. To raise money, she posted videos on the Internet, showing how beavers build dams(水坝)and how she saved wild animals. Through her hard work, about 400,000 willow shrubs were planted with the money from Internet users.

With the help of Chu's team, the number of beaver nests has increased from 162 to 190 over the past four years. Chu said, "We will continue to encourage more people to take part in nature conservation".

Now, she is working on a new program called the "beaver ark". It's a hospital for wild animals which get ill or wounded(受伤).She also runs a "beaver guardian"program. It trains local people to patrol(巡逻)along the river.

阅读理解

Famous Places around the World

South Africa South Africa has a comfortable climate (气候)， with lovely warm sunny days for most of the year. The summer is from November to February, and the weather is really hot at this time. In August, it's winter and the weather is usually warm, except at night.

Greece The best time to visit Greece is April to June. If you just want to sit on a beach and see the sunshine every day, then August is the perfect month. But, be careful! Temperatures are really high. In the southeast of Greece, it might be 30-35℃.

Australia It's winter in Australia in July and August. The hottest months are from November to March. The best time to go is September or October. It's warm enough to swim in the sea. It's cool enough to tour around, and it's not too rainy. Go there in August if you like it colder.

 阅读短文，回答问题

Keeping Earth healthy is an important job. That's what the environmental protection is all about. One of the hardest jobs is solving the problem of rubbish. The trouble with rubbish is that more and more rubbish is produced and there will be no place to put it.

A lot of our rubbish comes from plastic. Juice, water, shampoo (洗发水) -these all come in plastic bottles. Too much plastic is one of our worst rubbish problems. When a plastic bottle becomes rubbish, it remains rubbish for hundreds of years. That's because plastic is hard to decompose (分解) in the earth.

Is there a better way to deal with plastic? Yes! We can recycle it. When we recycle, we take something that's been used and turn it into something new. Here is how it works. People save their plastic bottles. A special recycling truck picks the bottles up and takes them to the recycling center. Here, the bottles are melted down. The melted plastic is sent to a factory. At the factory, the old plastic is made into something new. It may become a new bottle, a backpack or maybe even a slide (滑梯) at playground!

Sometimes there are not many things that kids can do to help solve our planet's problems. But kids can do a lot about rubbish. Recycling is one way that all people can make a big difference!

 阅读理解

In December, Memphis Zoo in Tennessee said that it would return Ya Ya, who arrived in the US in 2003. After her 20-year loan period (租借期限) ended on April 7, Ya Ya finally returned home from the US 20 days later. 

China prepared to welcome back Ya Ya and experts (专家) from the Beijing Zoo arrived in the US in March to learn about her habits and feeding situation from the zoo workers. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the quarantine (检疫) and feeding places for Ya Ya were ready along with her feeding plans and medical care. 

In January, visitors found that Ya Ya became thin, making many Chinese and foreign animal lovers worry about her health. Actually, Ya Ya had been well cared for since being lent to the Memphis Zoo in the United States in 2003, and no unhealthy signs had been found, based on videos of the giant panda and monthly health reports. 

Once Ya Ya finished a 30-day quarantine in Shanghai after landing in China, she then was sent to the Beijing Zoo. 

The news that Ya Ya is coming back to China has cheered up millions of Chinese people. By April 9, a topic about Ya Ya received 250 million likes. "Come home soon, Ya Ya. I'll go to see you in the zoo even if I have to wait in line all day long!" an Internet user said on Sina Weibo. 

 阅读理解

World Ocean Day is on 8th June. It happens every year on the same date. It started in 1992. Now, more than 140 countries take part. 

Why Must We Protect the Oceans?

We must protect the oceans because lots of animals live in them and they are not safe. There is plastic (塑料) litter in the ocean and it can take a very long time to go away. It stays there for a very long time and harms the animals that live there. 

                                 

Did You Know. . . ? A plastic bottle can last about 450 years in the sea.

How Can We Help?

We must put our litter in the bin or reuse it. We must never litter because it might end up in the oceans.